making news on this thursday, september 2nd. >> bracing for earl. millions on the east coast, set to feel nature's wrath over the next 48 hours. we have the latest hurricane track. hostage drama. questions about what caused an armed man to hold people hostage at the discovery channel. and the danger of falling asleep at the wheel. and good morning. i'm mike marusarz in for vinita nair. >> and i'm rob nelson. hurricane earl is spinning closer to the nation's most popular beaches and its most populated areas. >> emergency crews have been declared. and emergencies have been declared in north carolina, virginia and maryland. and social security checks have even been mailed early to

recipients in ten states. >> right now, the category 4 storm is 400 miles across. it actually picked up speed overnight. it's expected to reach the north carolina coast later today. and that's where emily schmidt is now tracking the latest conditions. what's it like right now, emily? >> reporter: rob and mike, you look at the skies right now. they're clear. you can easily see the stars and the moon. you look behind me at the sea and you can tell there's not much of a breeze. we know the winds will pick up. so, too, will be pace of preparations. you want proof of that? i got it right here. our hotel delivered this letter to everyone. it says there's a mandatory evacuation for tourists on this island. it begins in less than an hour. this is the eye of hurricane earl. an area of calm in the midst of what is a monster category 4 storm. it's threatening more of the east coast than any hurricane in nearly 20 years. >> he's on the way. >> reporter: and that means people are on their way out. >> they won't let us stay. they're going to make us sit in this traffic.

>> roads are likely to overwash and be closed for several days. >> reporter: mandatory evacuations are spreading across north carolina. long lines of late summer tourists leaving with unexpected vacation memories. >> looking forward to a nice vacation. and now, our vacation's over. >> reporter: earl-induced work is just beginning. emergency shelters are being set up in the hurricane warning zone. homes boarded up. boats pulled out of the water for safety. >> by the time the hurricane comes up the coast, we try to be prudent and make sure the boat doesn't get damaged. >> you never know what flying debris you're going to get. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. >> reporter: fema is directing food and water north to cape cod, hoping to get ahead of a storm, that so far, shows no signs of retreat. and in fact, overnight, president obama signed a disaster declaration already for the state of north carolina. officials at every level know they only have a few hours to get ready for earl.

all they can do is sit and wait to see what earl has in store for them. rob and mike? >> emily, you mentioned the mandatory evacuation getting started in just about an hour. does that have people where you are pretty worried? >> reporter: it was interesting. as we were driving down here yesterday. we stopped at a gas station. people were gathers around the tv. they were closely watching the development of earl. we asked, what do you think? is it going to stick around? one guy shrugged and said, he didn't think so. as we got closer to town, closer to this barrier area, we only saw a couple of houses that only had visible plywood that had been put up recently to protect against the storm. however, the mandatory evacuation has gone into place since then. we certainly expect to see a lot more necessary activity today. back to you guys. >> all right. emily schmidt live in north carolina. thank you. even if this massive storm does not make a direct hit, it could still cause plenty of damage. sam champion shows us the most places likely to see the storm's

effect. >> reporter: the wind speeds here are just as -- kind of impressive. more than 200 miles from the center of this storm, are tropical storm-force winds, up to 70-mile-per-hour. near the high, anything 74 miles or greater. on its trip, along the shoreline, earl has two places it's likely to get close enough to push the 100-mile-per-hour winds. that's right along the cape. and also on the carolina shore. those areas sam mentioned in massachusetts are under a hurricane watch this morning. sam will sam will have more from north carolina all morning on "gma." and turning to other news this morning. middle east leaders meet today for the first face-to-face peace talks in nearly two years. president obama tried to jump-start those talks in meetings with israeli prime minister netanyahu and palestinian president abbas at the white house. simon mcgregor-wood is joining us from jerusalem with some of

the sticking points. hi, simon. >> reporter: good morning, rob. it's taken almost 20 months of diplomatic arm-twisting. but today, the two sides are finally due to sit down and talk face-to-face. a peace agreement to end this decades-long conflict in one year. that's their goal. very ambitious. but last night, as the protagonists gathered for dinner at the white house, there were fine words and lots of optimism. >> after nearly two years, israelis and palestinians will resume direct talks in pursuit of a goal that we all share. two states, israel and palestine, living side-by-side, in peace and security. >> we must learn to live together, to live next to one another, and with one another. and it is up to us, with the help of our friends, to conclude the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to afford them a new beginning. >> reporter: but there are lots of potential pitfalls.

the issues have defeated all previous attempts to solve them. what to do about jewish settleme settlements. where to draw the border between the two states, israel and palestine. where will the millions of palestinian refugees go? how to divide jerusalem into two capitals. all really complex and sensitive issues. and there are plenty of people on both sides here who want this process to fail. palestinian-side groups like hamas. on the israeli side, some of the jewish settlers don't want to see a palestinian state take shape at all. expect more positive statements as the two sides go into their first session today. the challenge for president obama and hillary clinton will be to keep that spirit alive, as the two sides get into the really detailed negotiations. rob? >> all right. simon mcgregor-wood in jerusalem. thanks. the final step is set to get under way to plug the blownout oil well at the center of the bp

oil spill. crews plan to remove the temporary cap that first contained the gushing oil in july. then, they'll attempt to raise the failed blowout preventer and replace it with a new one. and a status check. the oil giant says it has spent more than $93 million on advertising since the spill. about $5 million a week. a florida congresswoman says that that money would have been better spent on helping spill victims. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. severe storms in the middle of the country. damaging winds, baseball-size hail, flash flooding and isolated tornadoes around chicago, st. louis, oklahoma city and dallas. showers in east texas and the twin cities. thunderstorms in south florida. and humid along the gulf coast. >> another day of near record highs in the northeast. 93 here in new york. 92 in boston. 91 in baltimore. 80s from detroit to kansas city. up to ten degrees warmer than average out west. 98 in sacramento. and 82 in portland. and still to come this morning, another update on the

track of hurricane earl, which is moving quickly up the east coast. then, the hostage drama. in an unlikely place. a man with explosives storms the discovery channel offices. new questions this morning. and how can apple's newest offering really change the way you watch tv? !%

asian stocks are rising this morning, after a fast start to the month on wall street. investors were encouraged by a

cull of reports showing better-than-expected manufacturing growth here in the u.s. and in china. the reports ended a run of discouraging data. and it could signal that companies are ready to start hiring again. and checking the boards this morning, tokyo's nikkei average jumped 1.5% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow soared 255 points. that's its best day in almost two months. the nasdaq, meanwhile, rose almost 63 points. the maker of botox has settled federal charges that it illegally marketed the anti-wrinkle drug. allergan has agreed to pay $600 million to end the investigation. the company was also accused of promoting the product for so-called unproved medical uses, such as treating headaches and pain. a new survey of children's booster seats finds that more models have safe designs than ever before. in unsafe designs, the lap belt sits too low.

and the shoulder belt sits too close to the child's neck. the lap belt should cross the child's upper thighs. and the shoulder belt should cross the middle of the shoulder. you can see the ratings for yourself for 72 booster seats at iihs.org. apple's unveiled a new gadget that it hopes will change the way that you watch tv. ceo steve jobs introduced the revamped apple tv set-top box on wednesday. the $99 device allows users to rent tv shows from abc and fox, for 99 cents. and also streams movies from netflix. and facebook is moving into retail stores. target will begin selling facebook gift cards on sunday. the cards will be available in values of $15, $25 and 50 bucks. they will allow members to buy applications and virtual products for games on the site. >> all right. next on this thursday, a shocker at the u.s. open. a past champion sent home with a big loss. and caught on tape. a costly mistake for this drowsy driver.

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an excellent source of fiber from 100% whole grain. that helps keep them full so they can focus on the day ahead. keeps 'em full... keeps 'em focused. recapping our top story. hurricane earl is picking up speed as it quickly moves toward the east coast this morning. it's expected to make landfall along the north carolina coast by tomorrow night, which is why many people are packed up and headed inland. president obama has already signed an emergency declaration for the state. meanwhile, tropical storm watches have now been posted all the way to boston, ahead of the storm. >> accuweather's ava dinges is joining us with the morning's weather and more on the track. >> good morning, mike and rob. hurricane earl, the first hurricane of the 2010 season to

impact the east coast. right now, still a major hurricane, making waves across the southeast. and on its heels, tropical storm fiona. not a lot of development, because earl impeding its development. but dangerous surf all throughout the day from daytona beach, back across the eastern carolinas. and the worst of the weather, into the night, as we could have gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour. and the northeast seeing those impacts, as well. now, back to you. our resident hurricane expert, sam champion, will have live updates later today on "good morning america." the headquarters of the discovery channel will be open for business today, after a hostage siege there yesterday. the intruder was an environmental militant named james lee. he was armed with a gun, explosives and a bizarre agreement. john hendren has the story from silver spring, maryland. >> reporter: at the discovery channel building, a nightmare scenario unfolded in seconds. >> at 1:00 p.m. today, a man entered the discovery building.

he came in. he was wearing what appeared to be metallic canister devices on his front and back. he also pulled a handgun out, was waving a handgun. >> reporter: police assumed the canisters were explosives. then, chaos as the gunman seized hostages. police, fbi and s.w.a.t. teams swarmed the scene. >> folks, move as far away from the building as you can. >> reporter: workers were told to evacuate or hide. in a text message to abc news, one wrote, quote, i'm in work closet with workers here. i am okay. from the day-care center, babies in cribs were rolled across busy streets to safety at a nearby mcdonald's. then, it ended with a detonation and a single shot. >> the suspect was shot by police officers. the device appeared to go off. the hostages -- there were three hostages. all of the hostages are safe. >> reporter: law enforcement sources identified the subject as james j. lee, seen here in this video. he is believed to create this website, called save the planet

protest. demanding that the discovery channel call for, quote, programs calling for human sterilization. adding, the planet does not need humans. the gunman walked into the first floor lobby with the blue and white sign behind me and flashed a gun. that's where he remained with three hostages, as police negotiated for hours for their release until finally police brought him down. john hendren, abc news, silver spring, maryland. a new york city man has survived a fall from the 39th floor of a high-rise apartment building. he crashed feet-first in a sports car that was parked on the seat and landed in the back street. 22-year-old thomas magill reportedly was trying to kill himself. he's now in critical condition after having surgery on both of his legs. a surveillance camera outside of the a massachusetts convenient store caught some amazing pictures. the driver, look at that,

apparently lost control after falling asleep and crashed right through the front of the store. it happened just as the owner and his wife closed for the night. the driver was okay. and after $130,000 in repairs, the store is back open for business. >> all those folks are lucky. well, in sports news this morning, a surprise in the second round of the u.s. open here in new york. we get the latest, now, from espn news. >> good morning. we start your espn news update with a base-brawl between the nats and marlins. nyjer morgan, of course, in the middle of it all. he was already hit by a pitch. then, chris volstad, throwing behind him. nyjer's had enough. he's charging the mound. but look out. but gaby sanchez clothelines him. then, the brouhaha ensues. both benches, of course, would clear. when it all gets settled, morgan, leaving like he's the champ. the managers, jim riggleman and edwin rodriguez, all fired up. take a couple more looks at this. morgan, of course, left catcher

brett hayes with a separated shoulder. he was suspended for questionable play on the field. we'll see how many suspensions come after this. marlins go on to win by a final of 16-10. tennis time. u.s. open. that's andy roddick, the nine seed, taking on jarko tipsarevic from serbia. roddick, coming to the net. the stretch volley. he takes the first set, 6-3. in the second, a-rod, serving down 6-5, 0-40. and tipsarevic, the great backhand pass wins the second set, 7-5. to the third. now, roddick hasn't won a grand slam since the '03 u.s. open. that's his only grand slam title. and tipsarevic doesn't want him to get past the second round. he'll take the third set, 6-3. fourth set, match point, up 6-4 in the tiebreak. tipsarevic to net. roddick comes. but the serbian with the answer. he'll take it 3-1 sets. andy roddick, done in new york. that's all for this espn news update.

i'm steve weissman. back to you in new york. up next, an update on our top story, hurricane earl. and why fans of one tv show have reason to celebrate today. we'll be right back. reason to celebrate today. we'll be right back. to our muscs that s through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery

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of 140 miles an hour, as it quickly approaches the east coast. >> the storm is forecast to brush by north carolina by later today or early tomorrow. and with a slight movement to the west, it could bring floods and hurricane-force winds to parts of the northeast tomorrow into saturday. middle east leaders hold face-to-face peace talks for the first time in nearly two years. secretary of state hillary clinton hosts the meeting between israeli prime minister netanyahu and palestinian president abbas. the meeting will take place at the state department. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke appears before a panel investigating the roots of the financial crisis. bernanke will give his take on the meltdown and potential risk from banks considered too big to fail. and if you're anywhere near beverly hills today, you can celebrate "90210" day, with today's day closely matching that famous california zip code. there will be screenings of the original show. and even a party on rodeo drive. >> how about that? and even a party on rodeo drive. >> how about that? ?

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the eastern seaboard braces for hurricane earl, the governor's of maryland, virginia, and north carolina have declared state of emergencies. >> everybody's wondering about earl and keeping an eye on it. >> let's start with justin berk for the latest. >> good morning to you. want to see what we didn't want to hear. hurricane earl is stronger this morning. we're looking at this formidable storm off the coast. it's really well-organized. the strongest storm of the season thus far. this is on the borderline of what people are thinking along the coast of hurricane hugo, hit in 1989. this isn't a storm slamming on the coast, maybe brushing the

coast, could be skimming the outer banks and ocean city. the beach's under a tropical storm warning. they'll be on the periphery of getting winds of tropical storm force, maybe hurricane force gusts. this thing is stronger and maybe larger. will be pulling away from our shorelines up the coast tomorrow morning. 40 to 60 miles per hour, maybe stronger gusts. waves tomorrow morning, 10 to 20 feet. we'll hardly notice anything, except for a push of water and easterly flow may give some flooding issues on the western shores of the chesapeake. 70 degrees this morning, versus 75 in ocean city. and our hour by hour forecast calls for a mostly sunny sky. maybe starting to see high clouds over the southern and southeastern sky with high the 92. >> we are pretty quiet so far thisor